U-God - Mount Everest

By Ru1

So what if I tell you that the lead singles off U-God's upcoming full length Keynote Speaker are probably some of the best tracks he's EVER put out? Well, I'd expect a lot of sarcastic comments, but trust me on this one. I think the Wu's most maligned member might redeem himself here. Check out 'Mount Everest' featuring the legend Rebel Ins and the amaing Elzhi.

AdLib - One of the Few

By Ru1

So y'all might have heard the mighty Adlib on tracks with some of the Coka Nostra crew and that aint bad pedigree at all. This excellent lyricist (yes, excellent) has just dropped his debut album Bad Newz and I would recommend you cop it even if I haven't listened to it yet. In the meantime, enjoy the lead single 'One of the Few' featuring a beat by Ali Armz.

Funcrusher Friday - Issue 9

By Ru1

This week’s Funcrusher Friday features my favourite Def Jux track off of my favourite Def Jux album by my favourite Def Jux artist of all time. No Regrets by the effervescent Aesop Rock was one of the standout tracks from his incredible 3rd album ‘Labor Days’. Produced by his long time collaborator Blockhead, No Regrets encapsulates everything that is special about Aesop Rock: lyrics, social commentary, style, flow and coherence. Through this parable starring Lucy, Aesop manages to show what a wage earner can do when they confront the system and their slave masters. To all those haters out there who criticise Aesop Rock’s (perceived) verbosity and lyrical complexity: you don’t understand sh!t!

Enjoy this classic and have a great weekend, folks!

J. Cole - Let Nas Down (Remix) feat. Nas

By Ru1

Ok so I gotta say first up that I'm not the biggest fan of J. Cole and neither can I say that I'm an expert on his music. That being said, this little snippet of trivia made for interesting listening and reading. So the story goes that J. Cole heard from a friend that Nas really disliked the radio friendly tracks he included in his first album. Cole was so upset by this he made a track called 'Let Nas down' which made its way on to his recently released sophomore LP. Having heard this, Nas was compelled to write a verse of his own telling Cole that he had in fact made him proud! Check out the remix to Cole's original featuring Nas's verse. All's well that ends well, I suppose...

Tony Touch - Unorthodox

By Ru1

Hip Hop legend Tony Touch aka Tony Toca drops the latest installment of his epic Piecemaker series today. This has obviously gotten us pretty excited! Support real hip hop and cop this record, but in the meantime check out the lead single 'unorthodox' featuring none other than Raekwon, RZA, Ghostface, and JD Era. Speaking of unorthodox, what y'all think of RZA's verse?!

Funcrusher Friday - Issue 8

By Ru1

It’s that time of the week, folks! Yup, that’s right, it’s Funcrusher Friday! This week we’re bringing you a very special rare track from The Weathermen: The Only Weathermen Song. Recorded in 2001, this mega EL-P produced tune features Jakki da Mota Mouth, Tage Future, Yak Ballz, Copywrite, Vast Aire and Cage on the mic! The track was recorded in EL-P’s basement studio in Brooklyn back when the Ox were preparing Cold Vein and Copywrite was putting together his debut LP. Copywrite has gone on record to say that Camu Tao (RIP) and Vordul Mega were around at the time but that they didn’t drop verses cos “Camu was probably smokin’ a blunt with Vordul”!

Have a great weekend folks!

Dr. OctoTron - Good Stuff

By Ru1

Remember your favourite alien gynaecologist who died unceremoniously at the hands of Dr Doom? Well, guess what? Dr Octogon is back! Not only has Kool Keith resurrected his epic alter ego, he’s teamed up with Del the Funky Homosapien to form the dynamic Dr.OctoTron! Check out this banger produced by the maestro KutMasta Kurt (more cowbell!).

Enjoy this one folks! What an appetiser to the new Deltron album!

Joey Bada$$, Kirk Knight and DOOM - Amethyst Rockstar

By Ru1

While DOOM hasn’t exactly possessed the Midas touch of late, you can still pretty much put your money on the super villain putting out at least a handful of gems each year – mostly as a beatmaker recently. He’s hit the mark with this production for the Pro Era duo Joey Bada$$ and Kirk Knight. Amethyst Rockstar features a signature DOOM beat laced with fluid verses from these two new school lynchpins. Always great to see a true school head collaborate with sick young MCs!

Salute!

Funcrusher Friday - Issue 7

By Ru1

Its such a great feeling to be able to post new tracks on a Funcrusher Friday. Don't get me wrong, the Def Jux back catalogue is so vast and impressive you can get lost in it, but we just love to see our heroes releasing new music. And EL-P is a true Rap Buzz 'hero'.

The man formerly known as El-Producto teams up with his R.A.P. Music partner Killer Mike to great effect in this captivating new collabo Run the Jewels. This is no one time project - the two have officially teamed up as Run the Jewels and unlike their acclaimed 2012 collaboration, EL-P graces the mic as well! EL still holds down the majority of productions too.

Make sure you download this...its FREE! This ish is fiya!!

Wu-Tang Clan - Family Reunion

By Ru1

When it comes to the Wu, no introductions are necessary. Check out the world's greatest crew's latest offering, Family Reunion. (ps. shout out to my incredible girlfriend for getting me a ticket to the Wu's 20th anniversary gig).

Enjoy